Webber extends Red Bull contract until 2011

Mark Webber will continue to drive alongside Sebastian Vettel next year

Mark Webber has signed with Red Bull Racing until 2011, alleviating fears of him possibly making way at the end of this year. He will continue to be alongside Sebastian Vettel, whose contract also expires at the end of 2011. This should also help concerns after their Turkish Grand Prix collision.

Webber said this about his new contract:

It was an easy decision to remain with Red Bull Racing. We began
talking very early this year and were in a position to sign by
the Barcelona Grand Prix.
The decision to extend for a further year was a mutual one; it’s
widely know that I’m not interested in hanging around in Formula
One just for the sake of it and at this stage of my career, I’m
happy to take one year at a time.

Christian Horner also seemed happy with Mark:

He is an important member of our team and is currently in the best
form of his career, as the current leader of the drivers’
championship. The team is extremely happy that the driver pairing
of Mark and Sebastian will remain unchanged for a third season in
2011.

A no-brainer really in my opinion, as despite their collision, Webber and Vettel are up there with Hamilton and Button as the best driver line-up on the grid. Mark should be around for a good few years more, and I don’t think that Sebastian would have any reason to move any time soon.

However, this practically gets rid of any possibility of Kimi Raikkonen returning to F1 in 2011, as many rumours were linking him to Red Bull. Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes already have solid line-ups, so I don’t think we’ll see Kimi ever again.